


There`s no place like home

by Carzekiel101



Category: The Walking Dead (TV), carzekiel - Fandom
Genre: Character Death, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:28:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26411152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carzekiel101/pseuds/Carzekiel101
Summary: "Then Carol grabs for her knife that has been lying next to her and without looking down does what needs to be done, hot tears streaming down her face." - Carol fulfills Ezekiel`s last wish. Character death.
Relationships: Ezekiel/Carol Peletier
Comments: 6
Kudos: 3





	There`s no place like home

**There`s no place like home**

Disclaimer: They`re not mine. Not making any profit with them. Just having fun.

„No!“

Carol stares at her husband in disbelief, her heart beating wildly because of what he just suggested to her. What he asked from her.

“Carol, please – “

Ezekiel takes a step forward, his hand reaching out to tenderly cup her cheek, his own heart constricting in pain when he sees the tears pooling in her eyes. He hates to do this to her, hates that she is suffering because of him, but the circumstances don`t leave him any other choice.

“Baby – “

Carol chokes out a heart-breaking sob, stepping into Ezekiel`s embrace, her arms wrapping tightly around his middle. He lost weight. Too much. Carol can`t stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks, pressing her face against his neck. It`s dark outside, the only light coming from two candles on either side of their bed. There is electricity, but they both prefer the candlelight.

They have been living in this small apartment at the Commonwealth for about six months now. Six months since Ezekiel arrived here first with Eugene, Carol close behind after the final battle with the Whisperers, desperate to be by his side again. Six months during which Ezekiel had underwent surgery and been receiving treatment for his cancer. The doctors had been optimistic at first, but the tumor had spread already, affecting his lungs. Ezekiel was fighting with all his might, fighting to stay with his wife for as long as he could. But he knows that he is losing the fight. They both do. That is why he made his request.

“You are in no condition for such a trip” Carol whispers against Ezekiel`s chest. He knows that she is probably right, but he has to do this. At least he has to try.

“I will hold on.”

Carol looks up at him, her eyes red from crying, her lips quivering. He looks so different now after they had to cut his dreads and shave his head due to the chemotherapy. His eyes still were the most beautiful she has ever seen, even with the pain lurking inside them. He still wears his beard, although it isn`t quite as thick as it used to be. Reaching up, Carol gently places her hands on Ezekiel`s cheeks, pulling him down for a kiss.

“Okay.”

Her heart is hammering in her chest, thinking what she just agreed to. She doesn`t want to do it, she isn`t ready to have to let him go, but she can`t deny him his last wish.

“Thank you.”

Ezekiel smiles at her through the sheen of his own tears, capturing her lips with his again. Carol wraps her arms around Ezekiel`s neck, deepening the kiss. When she pulls back, he`s got that boyish grin on his face that always makes her insides flutter. He pulls her to the bed and together they sink down to the mattress, wrapped in each other`s arms. They make love, slow and sweet, drawing it out for as long as they can, trying to make another meaningful memory.

A memory of love and pleasure, not of pain and sadness.

A couple days later they are standing in front of the Kingdom`s gates side by side, fingers laced together, holding their horses with their free hands. Neither of them has been here since they left the Kingdom over a year ago on a cold winter`s day. Now it was spring and everything was blooming around them.

“Are you okay?”

Carol looks at Ezekiel, concern in her voice. The trip has indeed been hard on him, although he did his best to keep his pain from her. She noticed anyway. Noticed the almost constant coughing, his labored breath. Now he looks calm, a soft smile playing on his lips. Tugging on her hand, he moves to open the gates.

“Come on.”

Together they open the gates and step into the abandoned Kingdom.

Carol had dreaded this moment, afraid that her bad memories would overtake her. Instead, she feels a strange feeling of peace. A feeling of finally being home again. Walking along the main road of the Kingdom with Ezekiel, she lets herself relax. The damages from the fire were still visible and everything looked a little overgrown, but it wasn`t as bad as she thought it would be.

“There`s no place like home.”

Turning her head to Ezekiel, Carol sees a happy smile on his face, answering it with one of her own.

After taking care of their horses, they head over to their former home. In their garden they stand at their son`s grave, arms tightly wrapped around each other. Ezekiel had wanted to bury him here, the place where they had spent a lot of time as a happy family. Now seeing Henry`s grave overgrown with a multitude of colorful wildflowers, Carol knows that it was the right decision.

“He was a good boy.”

Carol looks up at Ezekiel. There are tears shimmering in his eyes, but he`s got a proud expression on his face. Touching his cheek to make him look at her, Carol whispers “He was because of you.”

A single tear spills over and runs down Ezekiel`s cheek, but he smiles at Carol.

“And because of you, my Queen.”

Their home hadn`t been affected by the fire, so they settle into their old bedroom, making it as comfortable as possible. They spent the next two days wandering around the Kingdom, recalling all the happy memories they made together at this place over the years, smiling and laughing a lot. On their third day, Carol wakes up at the crack of dawn to find Ezekiel gone from their bed. Wrapping herself in a blanket against the early morning chill, Carol walks downstairs. She finds Ezekiel sitting on the steps of the front porch, wrapped in a blanket himself. She sits down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder, searching for his hand under the blanket.

“What are you doing out here?”

Ezekiel turns his head to press a kiss to her temple.

“I wanted to see the sun rise one last time.”

Carol squeezes her eyes shut, choking back the sob that is rising in her throat. She grabs Ezekiel`s hands, holding them to her heart as she watches the sunrise with him.

Later they sit on the grass in their garden under an old tree, leaning against each other.

“This really is my favorite place in the entire Kingdom.”

Turning her head up to look at Ezekiel, Carol sees a lazy grin his face. She nudges his knee with hers, grinning back at him, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

“It is my favorite place, too.”

And it was. It was the place where their souls connected for the first time. Where they shared their first kiss. Where they made passionate love on their wedding night. It feels like Carol has a million happy memories connected to this garden and she will keep them in her heart for all times.

Leaning over, Carol pulls Ezekiel closer for a sweet kiss. She closes her eyes, willingly opening her mouth to him when she feels the gentle probing of his tongue. She lets his passion envelope her, his love, pretending for a short moment that they are back in these happy times, living their perfect fairytale.

When they break their kiss, Ezekiel slips into a bad coughing fit, one of the worst he`s ever had. Helplessly, Carol wraps her arms around him, stroking his back in a pointless effort to calm him. Once the coughing ends, they look at each other, the knowledge that the time is near painfully visible in their eyes. Ezekiel settles his head into Carol`s lap, forcing his body to relax. Carol stubbornly holds back the tears that are again threatening to fall. She needs to be strong for him now. And she needs to tell him something. With her arms tightly around him, she sucks in a shuddering breath.

“I don`t know if I ever told you this, but – thank you.”

Ezekiel turns his head a little to look at her. “What for?”

“For saving me. When I was first here, I was on the verge of disappearing into nothingness. But you reached out to me, you touched me in a way no one else ever did before. You pulled me back from the darkness that surrounded me. You showed me what it means to be loved. To truly love.”

She blinks rapidly to keep the tears at bay, not willing to let go of him. Her voice is shaking when she speaks on.

“I love you so much, Ezekiel. I don`t regret a single day I spent with you. You made me happier than I ever thought possible. You were my light, my sunshine. I – I will never stop loving you.”

Ezekiel raises their joined hands to his lips, kissing her palm.

“Neither will I, my Queen. I promise. This love is for eternity.”

Carol chokes on a laugh, bowing down to kiss him. Only Ezekiel could say something like that. But she desperately hopes that he is right.

Ezekiel settles back into his former position, closing his eyes. He wants the last picture on his mind to be that of his beautiful wife. Slowly, he drifts off into sleep. Carol just sits there, waiting. She notices the change in his breathing, knows that he has fallen asleep. She keeps watching him, stroking him, paying attention to every slow rise and fall of his chest. After a while, his breathing becomes irregular – and then it stops. She waits, hoping against her better knowledge that he will take another breath. Carol bites down on the panic that is rising within her, instead bows down to press a kiss to his temple.

“I love you. And I always will.”

Then Carol grabs for her knife that has been lying next to her and without looking down does what needs to be done, hot tears streaming down her face. She feels Ezekiel`s blood trickling down into her lap, soiling her pants, but she doesn`t care.

She doesn`t know how long she is sitting there, but eventually she gets up, starting her work. It was Ezekiel`s wish to be buried next to Henry and this is what she will do. It is already completely dark when she has finally finished her task and she falls into a dreamless sleep right next to her husband and son, completely exhausted.

In the morning, Carol forces herself to go inside to change into some fresh clothes, but returns back to the garden right away to kneel in front of their graves. She already misses Ezekiel like crazy, misses his presence in her life, misses the light he has always cast upon her. But despite her grief, she is happy that they came here, that Ezekiel could die in peace knowing that he was home.

Carol jumps slightly when she hears a sound behind her, but doesn`t turn around. Whoever it is, is certainly not a threat.

“Boss.”

She does turn her head when she recognizes Jerry`s voice. He is standing at the entry to the garden with Dianne next to him, both of them staring at the fresh grave. Carol doesn`t say anything, just turns her head back again. She hears them come closer, both of them dropping to their knees on either side of her. They reach for her hands and Carol holds on to them as she finally lets her emotions overtake her, her whole body shaking with the force of her agony.

Dianne and Jerry stay with Carol for a couple days, supporting her as best as they can through the worst of her grief, but eventually they need to head back to the Commonwealth. Carol stands with them at the gates when it is time for them to leave, grateful for everything they have done for her.

“Are you sure you don`t want to come back with us?”

Carol gives Jerry a small smile, shaking her head. She has not intention to go back to the Commonwealth.

“Then what are you going to do?”

Both Jerry and Dianne look at her with worry in their eyes. Carol lets her eyes wander around the Kingdom, shrugging her shoulders.

“I will stay here. At least for a while.”

Her friends know that it is no use arguing with her, so they just hug her and tell her to take good care of herself. When Carol closes the gates of the Kingdom behind them, she leans her back against them, her eyes again roaming around the beauty of the Kingdom. Yes, she will stay here. Maybe forever. The Kingdom may not have been inhabitable for a large group of people anymore, but it was more than enough for her.

After all, this was her home.

Her happy place.

**Author's Note:**

> Lots of tears have been spilled writing this.


End file.
